


Bucks, Boars and Divine Beasts

by LettersByTheLake



Category: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda) - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: A little implied Sidlink at the end, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hateno Village, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Memories, Mild Language, Wild (Linked Universe)-centric, Yiga Clan - Freeform, divine beast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:33:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23924671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LettersByTheLake/pseuds/LettersByTheLake
Summary: When Wild unexpectedly recalls another memory, he decides to take Twilight's advice and see Zelda. However, the group soon find themselves crossing Wild's Hyrule to complete a task from the princess herself.
Relationships: Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe), Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link/Mipha (Legend of Zelda), Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 445





	1. Chapter 1

The mountain buck was grazing peacefully in the clearing in the woods, its mottled brown skin catching the dappled sunlight as it chomped on the long green grass. Wild homed in on it, all other sounds of the woods fading away as he focused all his concentration on that buck, that single point, metres away. His breathing slowed and so seemed his heartbeat correspondingly. An astonishing calm spread through his body, relaxing his muscles. He could hear every organ working, every slow _pump, pump_ of blood in his ears and he was truly at one with the wild. He drew his bow with impossible precision, not a single small tremble in his calloused hands, and he found his target: the buck’s eye. His own eyes turned hawk and he saw every movement, every bristle of its fur in the finest detail. His fingers tightened around the string and he pulled back further and-

“WILD!”

The buck fled and Wild cursed. He turned to see Twilight walking through the woodland towards him, the familiar mischievous, dopey grin on his face and looking mighty proud of himself _the bastard_.

Twilight reached him and Wild punched him lightly in the stomach to show his annoyance, a huge scowl on his face.

“Oh I-I’m sorry,” Twilight said in mock surprise, “did I scare away a meal?”

Wild glared at him.

“You’ll be the first to complain when there’s not enough food.”

“Ah, we’ve got plenty of food back at camp, there’s no need to kill an innocent animal,” he said good-naturedly.

Wild was seething.

“That could have kept us going for a couple days!”

“We’ve got more than enough for a week; your bag is a never-ending supply of food!” he said earnestly, and he wrapped an arm around Wild’s shoulders and started steering him away from the woods and the tasty, tasty meat.

Wild huffed sulkily but went along anyway.

They walked a little way when he started to wander off through the trees.

“What are you doing?” asked Twilight exasperatedly.

“If you’re not going to let me catch anything, at least let me gather some fresh tree nuts.”

Twilight smiled.

“See, I knew you’d come around, I’ll help.”

Wild looked back to see he had gone in the other direction, scouring the woodland floor for nuts and berries.

There was an abundance of tree nuts and acorns as well as several different types of mushroom in the wood, and Wild supposed he could incorporate them into a nice mushroom soup from the ingredients he already had in his bag instead of the warm, juicy, delicious meat stew he had been looking forward to all day.

He grumbled internally.

A twig broke nearby, and immediately Wild was on full alert. But instead of a Bokoblin or a Moblin or a Chu, a huge, lean boar stood a little distance away between two trees. Somehow it hadn’t noticed the two of them scuffling through the woodland.

Well, it was right _there!_ He _had_ to take the shot.

He looked around for Twilight who was quite a distance away now but still in sight, faced away and distracted, picking fruit from a tree. He turned back and drew his bow, the tenseness of the string exactly right, his fingers curved around it. The boar’s snout glistened, and its muscles rippled under its wiry fur…

Its muscles rippled under its wiry fur…

_Its muscles…_

_Its muscles rippled under its wiry fur, the sheer strength in those small compact bodies always amazed him. The meat he would get from this boar would feed him and the princess for days. He drew back his bow in practised ease; the shot would be effortless despite the distance between them._

_Then suddenly, Zelda screamed._

_His ears perked up and he immediately lowered his bow, heart pounding, boar forgotten as he dashed from his place amongst the long grass and ran as fast as he could towards the path where he had left the princess. She had fallen to the dusty ground beside her white stallion and held a small dagger up to her attacker. The tiny blade was ridiculously insignificant compared to the Yiga Blademaster’s Windcleaver gleaming with ferocity as he spun it with skill in his hands in warning. He did all he could from that distance, for there was no way he could close the gap between them in time. He drew back his bow and fired a single shot at the Blademaster._

_It didn’t even slow him down._

_However, it did make him turn towards him instead and he let out a great yell as he charged towards the beast of a man, putting as much attention as he could on himself to shield Zelda from the attack._

_The first blow from the Master Sword landed, slashing across his opponent’s midsection. He used his blundering strength against him as he dodged each swipe, his movements nimble and quick, and he managed to land several small blows each time._

_Eventually, the Blademaster’s strength started to wane, the lethal swipes of his blade becoming slower and weaker until finally he finished him off and he disappeared in a burst of paper notes._

_He let out a breath._

_“Link!” cried Zelda, “Thank goodness you were here!”_

_He just smiled and offered her his hand, his pounding heart slowing as the adrenaline ebbed from his veins._

_“That’s the second time you’ve had to save me from the Yiga Clan,” she said, embarrassed and a little flustered as she got to her feet._

_“We should perhaps see about getting you a better weapon… A sword maybe?” He dropped to one knee and started to rummage in his bag. Eventually, he brought out a Royal Broadsword, its blade untouched and sharp._

_He looked up to see Zelda staring at him in surprise._

_“What use have you for royal blades when you have the Master Sword at your command?”_

_He shrugged._

_“Always good to have a spare,” he said simply, and he handed the sword and sheath over to the princess._

_She held it up, admiring the gold and purple hilt and the clean straight edge of the silver blade. At once her expression turned dark, her eyebrows furrowing, and she lowered the sword with a sigh and looked to where the Blademaster had just disappeared._

_“The Yiga- they’re worse than any monster, I-“_

_He just watched silently as she tried to find words to express her hatred._

_“HOW?” she cried unexpectedly, her sorrow piercing sharp through the peace of the woods, “How could a Sheikah stand against their own, stand with Ganon, so proudly wear the mark against their kin, I… I don’t understand,” she added quietly, dropping her hands in defeat, “There’s so much evil in the world and I can do nothing,_ nothing _, to stop it.”_

_She looked at her hands where there was not a small trace of the legendary sealing power, and perhaps there never would be._

The memory faded as quickly as it had come and he was back as Wild crouching in the long grass, his bow clutched tightly in one hand.

“Cub?”

Adrenaline one again spiked up through his body like an electric shock and he pulled back his bowstring once again and aimed at… at _Twilight._

“Woa! Cub It’s me, it’s me!”

He was sitting next to him in the grass, arms up, looking terrified.

Wild’s eyes went wide, and he lowered the bow immediately.

“S-sorry,” he said stupidly, shocked at what he’d almost done.

“It’s ok, I should have been more careful not to startle you…” He paused. “Did you remember something again?” he asked softly.

Wild nodded but said nothing.

Twilight, ever patient, waited for him to speak in his own time.

A beetle was crawling on a blade of grass nearby. It was black and shiny and carrying a leaf that seemed much too heavy for something of such little size. He focused on it, brows furrowed.

The truth was like an ocean, he thought, so impossibly wide and deep that he could not possibly hope to ever explore it all. It slipped through his fingers; no matter how hard he clutched to what little memories he had, it always escaped him. He wasn’t the person he was before; that silent, strong, serene knight who obeyed every order and left no room for personal pleasures. He admired that Link in so many ways and he seemed to be everything he was not.

But there were also so many ways in which he loathed him.

He calmed his thoughts. _One problem at a time._

He spoke, finally.

“Now that Ganon is defeated, the biggest enemy here is the Yiga Clan. That was what the memory was about, they tried many times to assassinate us.”

Twilight looked at him in surprise.

“They were active here before Ganon came to power?”

“Yeah, they were doing everything they could to help him rise, and that included stopping us. I always thought that maybe…” he frowned and shook his head, “no.”

“What?”

Wild looked at him.

“Well they had only hatred for Hylians, and the Sheikah particularly. They despised how they bent to the ways of Hyrule after they were shunned for their technology. It just makes me think… Well they would have done anything to destroy us…” he contemplated.

He saw realisation in Twilight’s features. “You’re saying you think the Yiga Clan had something to do with Ganon’s rise to power.”

Wild sighed, “I don’t know… I don’t know how they would have done it, but they have access to tech and knowledge that the rest of us don’t. If anyone could, it would be them.”

Twilight looked outraged but then his features slowly melted into sorrow.

“It’s not fair. Now that Ganon is defeated your Hyrule should be allowed some peace.”

Wild nodded. He knew that Twilight, more than any of the others, had witnessed how cruel the Yiga could be.

There was silence for a moment where Twilight looked at him almost sympathetically.

No, he didn’t want that, didn’t need people looking down at him in pity. No one understood, his experience was so unique to all the other’s journeys, and although they had all been through something awful, none of their Hyrule’s were having to be rebuilt piece by piece because of what a hero had done. A hero who had known not the hatred and pure evil in the world. A naïve, sullen, silent hero who had thought that just because he had a legendary blade, he could defeat something like that- that _thing_. And that hero was him.

“I think I want to see Zelda now. I just- I need to make sense of my memories, they’re all jumbled up and I think you were right when you said she could help.”

“Do you know where she is?”

“Last I heard she was at the Ancient Tech Lab in Hateno Village.”

“Then that’s where we’ll go,” Twilight replied without a second of hesitation.

Wild smiled. The unconditional support he got from his friends, especially Twilight, was overwhelming sometimes after so long alone.

Twilight knocked him gently on the shoulder and stood up, offering him his hand.

“Come on, we better get back, the others must be starving.”

Wild took his hand.

“Yeah, well I hope they’re not expecting more than a few mushrooms and tree nuts,” Wild grumbled.

“Oh, stop whining.”


	2. Chapter 2

When they got back to the clearing in which they had set up camp, the others were all sitting around a campfire, laughing and chattering. Wind was telling a story animatedly, his excitement seeming to brim from his big, blue eyes as he spoke, and everyone else was listening intently.

“-and then I managed to get behind it while it was distracted and I took a really strong swing, like this,” he got to his feet and made a big swiping motion, “and I chopped its head clean off!”

Sky made a low whistling sound.

“And Warriors was there, and he didn’t even see it!” he said throwing his hands up in the air.

Warriors, who was sitting next to him on a log, reached up and ruffled his hair, pulling him down at the same time.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re just making the whole thing up,” he said with a grin.

“I’m not, I swear!” he said earnestly, his eyes wide.

“He’s just teasing, Wind, I don’t doubt your fighting skills for a second,” said Time, with a small smile.

“Hey, Wild, did you catch anything, we’re starving?” asked Legend, looking up as the two heroes joined them.

Wild gestured at Twilight.

“He scared the animals off again, so we haven’t got any meat,” he stopped to glare at Twilight again, “but we collected some tree nuts and mushrooms and I found some berries as well.”

They all groaned at Twilight.

“You promised you _wouldn’t_ Twi,” whined Hyrule.

At least Twilight had the decency to look at least a little sheepish.

“Wild can make a perfectly good meal without meat,” he said and sat down next to Time on the ground on the opposite side of the fire to Wind and Warriors.

“To think that you, of all people, would be an aspiring vegetarian,” said Four, grumpily.

Sky shot him a strange look, but Four just rolled his eyes and put his elbows on his knees.

“So,” Twilight said, quickly changing the subject, “what was this you were saying about a Lizalfos, Wind?”

“Well, Warriors doesn’t believe me, but I chopped its head clean off in only one swipe!”

Wind enthusiastically went back into his story and retold it with an extraordinary amount of energy while Wild set up a cooking pot over the campfire.

While he cut up the mushrooms and vegetables and put them into the pot along with milk from Hateno cows and some rock salt, he pondered the memory he had just recalled. There were so many things he wanted to know, so many questions to ask that he would never find time to ask them all. Hylia, most of the questions he didn’t even know _to_ ask. Hopefully Zelda could clear at least some of them up though, provided the rest of the group agreed to go to Hateno Village and that the princess was actually still there.

He grew suddenly very weary as he thought of his long journey ahead. Yes, he had defeated Ganon and saved Zelda and Hyrule, but this was only the start for him.

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

“I think you’ve probably chopped those mushrooms enough,” said Time kindly and Wild suddenly jumped to alertness. The Hylian Shrooms he had been chopping were now bits of red and white mush. He laughed awkwardly.

“Oh, yeah,” he said putting them in the pot that was now steaming with a beautiful creamy smell.

“Pup was just saying how you wanted to go to Hateno Village next. It sounds like as good a plan as any.”

He looked around at everyone and smiled gratefully.

“Hey, we can finally see that house of yours,” piped up Hyrule.

Legend cocked an eyebrow.

“You have a house?”

Wild nodded and Legend looked impressed.

“And here I thought you just lived under a bridge or something.”

The next day was mild and sunny, a thin mist hugging the ground and covering the vegetation with a light film of dew. It was striking how the weather controlled their mood as a group so drastically; a thunderstorm could bring an electric misery and dark clouds could bring a silent gloom. But today, as they set out east, they were in high spirits, and for that Wild was grateful.

As they walked, he thought about Zelda and what it would be like to see her again, whether she would be pleased to see him or chagrined he hadn’t carried on their adventures together. He wondered if _he_ would be pleased to see _her,_ for as much as he liked the princess and her stiff, eccentric ways, she represented another life to him. A life he hadn’t been a part of for what felt like a long, long time.

As for Hateno Village, he had come to think of it as a home now. His modest house had always provided a refuge away from the harshness of his Hyrule and his responsibilities and was one of the few stabile things he owned. The residents knew him, as he passed by often and bought supplies and clothes from the shops, but they weren’t so curious about his life that he felt uncomfortable. They let him be. It was nice to have something continuous amidst all the uncertainty

“So, what’s your Zelda like?” asked Hyrule, catching up to him and pulling him from his drifting thoughts.

“Oh… er, well,” she tried to think of a way to describe her. What made Zelda, Zelda?

“She’s very interested in botany and technology and… she’s always trying to test her theories and experiments. When she’s not trying to save Hyrule that is,” he added.

He didn’t want to make it obvious to the others, but he didn’t remember much about Zelda at all. Yes, there was the little time they spent together after they defeated Ganon, but that time had been about practicalities and the next stage; not exactly time for bonding. And the few memories he did have of her one hundred years ago showed him what she did rather than who she was, and he was pretty sure she hadn’t actually liked him much until near the end. He had no clue how he had felt about her back then… no clue how he felt about anything.

“So… she’s a nerd?” Hyrule asked, his eyebrows raised.

Wild laughed.

“I suppose so, yeah!”

Hyrule was smiling, “she sounds pretty cool.”

“Yeah, she is.”

Warriors, who was walking in front of them and no doubt listening to every word, hung back a little to walk with them.

“So, Wild, was there ever anything, you know, _more than friendship_ between you two?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know, I don’t think so.”

Warriors nodded agreeably.

“Yeah, princesses are overrated, there’s plenty of other beautiful, intelligent women out there.” He gazed into the distance dreamily and Wild shot Hyrule a look. They burst out laughing.

Warriors came back to the present with a scowl.

It took a full day to get through Fort Hateno and then to the village gates, and by the time they got there, the sun was already low in the sky.

“Halt! What business do you have here?” A small man with a straw hat and a pitchfork stood at the gates trying and failing to hide his extreme intimidation by this large group carrying all sorts of big weapons.

“It’s alright Thadd, they’re with me,” Wild said, making his way to the front of the group.

“Link!“ he said, his tough-front fading away, “Haven’t seen you in a while. Er…” He leaned closer, and added in a whisper, “what’s with the big gang?” Wild realised that considering he was always alone on his adventures, it must have looked very odd to suddenly see him amidst a group of nine.

“Just some friends I picked up along the way. You don’t mind, do you?”

His face broke out into a smile.

“No, of course not! It’s nice to see you found yourself some friends!”

He felt his face turn red while he heard some of the others shuffle awkwardly behind him.

“Heh, well we better get going. Thanks again.”

“Are you kidding,” said Legend once out of earshot, “that guy is the only defence for this place? Are you sure it’s safe?”

“You’d be surprised how people have adapted to fend for themselves around here, he’s actually a very skilled swordsman… er, pitchforkman.”

Legend gave a grunt in reply.

Wild looked up at the Tech lab silhouetted at the top of the hill in the distance way above the village, smoke billowing from the oddly placed chimney. It was such a peculiar building with such oddities hidden inside, a mishmash of ideas, just like the people who lived there. There was a good chance Zelda was there right now. She was so close.

Twilight approached him. “Better to rest now and you can go and see her tomorrow morning when it’s light, yeah?”

He nodded.

“So, where’s this house then, Wild?” asked Sky.

“Yeah, I want to see it!” enthused Wind.

Wild smiled at their eagerness to see the life he had created here.

“This way,” he said, leading them right, up the hill.

As they all strode eagerly towards his house, he felt a strange nervousness. What would they think of the only home he had ever known, or at least that he could remember? He knew it wasn’t exactly full of personal belongings and the place wasn’t personal to him precisely, Bolson had put all the furniture and photos there. But it had come to be a place he loved, a place where there was no one judging him, no one whispering about Ganon and the legendary failure long ago. The weather was always mild, a respite from the icy claws of Tabantha and the dry sands of the Gerudo Desert. It was a place to just breathe.

And now he was bringing his family home.

Once they crossed the bridge and Wild opened the door to let them all inside, he waited nervously by the kitchen cupboard in the corner while they explored the house. Wind, Hyrule, Sky and Legend immediately crowded upstairs looking at his books and paintings while the others stayed downstairs and admired the weapons and shields he had hung up on his walls.

As he watched them rattle through his belongings. he felt like he was revealing a secret, letting them loose on a part of his mind they had never seen before.

“This is a lovely house you got here, Cub, very cosy,” Twilight said, coming over to stand with him. He always knew exactly what to say.

“You like it?”

“Yeah. It’s nice to know you have a place to go when the world gets rough.”

_Yes, yes it was._

Wild smiled at him gratefully. It meant the world that mentor liked it.

"Wait, so how come you haven't been here before Twi? I thought you two adventured together," Four asked from across the room. 

Twilight shrugged.

"By the time I had joined him there wasn't much time to stop and catch our breath I guess." 

“Hey, Wild, did you paint these?” asked Sky from upstairs holding up one of the paintings of Hateno village that were placed around the room.

“Er- no. I don’t even know if I _can_ paint,” he laughed.

“What about these books, have you read them all?” asked Hyrule.

“Nope,” he replied, “I haven’t really found much time.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Hyrule muttered, running his fingers down the spines.

“Hey, guys, let’s not be disrespectful, leave Wild’s stuff alone,” said Time.

“Oh- that’s ok,” said Wild quickly, but secretly he was thankful for Time’s words. It wasn’t that he minded, it was just, as much as he loved this place, as much as it was _his,_ it had been Bolson who had furnished it, chosen the paintings, selected his own favourite books to be put on the shelves. He hadn’t had much to do with it at all which made talking about it difficult. He didn’t want to let them know that along with everything else, he didn’t even know the inside of his own house.

“Hey, Wild, where did you get this?” asked Warriors. He was holding a Great Eagle Bow looking impressed. Now _that_ he could talk about.

He launched into a story about the Rito and Revali and the Divine Beast that had been troubling the land. Warriors and the others listened intently and with awe.

“Very impressive,” said Warriors with a nod, and he put the bow back on its stand and continued to regard his collection of shields with admiration.

The others upstairs had stopped rummaging around but had taken a painting off the wall and were crowded around it, sitting in the bed, trying to see if they recognised the landscape.

Wild felt a sudden urge to get away. He got overwhelmed a reasonable amount during their travels by the people around him. He had spent so long alone in the wilderness, he wasn’t sure if he would ever be used to having people around him all the time. Particularly ones that cared about him as much as they did.

“I’m going to go and catch some fish from the pond and cook us some food,” he said, stepping towards the door.

“Yes, good shout! I’m starving,” said Wind from upstairs.

With a smile he left them to admire his house. As he opened the door and stepped outside into the cool evening air where tendrils of dusk were already starting to claim the skies like ink in water, he could feel Twilight’s eyes watching him go.

He spent a good hour diving into the river outside the house, getting lost in the task of catching the flitting fish, his hands grasping their slippery scales as they thrashed around, not quite managing to escape his hold. He knew some of the others got annoyed he didn’t use a fishing rod, they liked to outsmart the fish with a hook and line. In his opinion outsmarting a fish wasn’t very impressive, they had fish brains after all. Out-swimming a fish though, that was impressive. He respected the creatures of the wild and liked to give them a fair shot at survival, they deserved that much.

Eventually he had caught five large armoured carp - more than enough to feed everyone. He turned back to the bank and then started as he saw Twilight sitting there with a wonky grin on his face.

“How long have you been there?!”

He laughed, “not long. Long enough to see you dive-bomb those fish.”

“Hey, I caught them didn’t I?”

“Yeah, somehow,” Twilight replied teasingly.

Wild moved over to sit with him by the bank, laying the now still fish on the ground next to them. They sat like that in silence for a couple of minutes, watching the last orange dapples of sunset wash out of the sky.

“It must be weird being back here with all of us,” Twilight said after a while.

“Yeah,” said Wild quietly. He didn’t know what to say. He wanted to voice how he was feeling, but he couldn’t quite put a finger on it himself.

He sighed, “It’s been so great spending time with all of you. I’ve spent so much time alone, sometimes it doesn’t even feel real. Even before, a hundred years ago, when I was with the other champions, Mipha and Zelda, I get the feeling I was lonely then too. It just… gets a bit overwhelming sometimes, especially being back here.”

Twilight nodded.

“I can’t imagine what it must have been like, waking up and having to carry this weight on your shoulders alone.”

He hadn’t voiced voice the obvious. _This failure,_ thought Wild.

He started playing with a strand of his long blonde hair.

“I feel bad for leaving Zelda. I mean I know what we’re doing is important, or at least I think it is, but I’ve left her to deal with the aftermath of Ganon alone.”

“From what you’ve said, it sounds like she’s not alone. She’s got Impa and Purah…”

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s just hard to think she’s going through the same thing I did.”

“You both sacrificed a lot.”

Wild nodded and stared into the distance, almost like he was reliving a memory again.

“She’s more of a hero than I ever was,” he muttered.

“I imagine she’d say the same about you.”

He turned and faced Twilight, his eyes were so serious in the fading light, he didn’t want to be burdening him with all of this. He smiled, letting him know the conversation was over.

“Let’s go back, I’m sure everyone’s hungry.”

That night he slept fitfully on the wooden floor of the mezzanine. Hyrule and Wind had taken the bed. They had protested a lot but, in the end, it was either them or nobody, Wild wasn’t going to hog it when they were guests his own house. Besides, they slept on the floor so much these days, he had grown to sleep better on a hard surface anyway.

He dreamt of huge, dark castles and angry blonde princesses and big men with swords and when he woke up in the morning, it felt like he hadn’t slept a wink. He was so nervous about speaking to Zelda, he felt quite nauseous, butterflies perpetually flittering around in his stomach. He had fought Ganon himself and he was scared of a little conversation with a princess, it was ridiculous. Although somehow overnight he had convinced himself that Zelda was going to hate him. I mean, he had completely left her when she needed him the most, who wouldn’t be angry?

“Hey, Wild, take my advice and just always admit you’re wrong,” said Warriors at the table between mouthfuls of bread and egg, “even if you’re not, just say she’s right. Women never appreciate it when they’re wrong.”

“Yeah, take _my_ advice and don’t take Warriors’ advice about anything involving females,” said Time.

Wild groaned and put his head on the table.

Sky put a hand on his shoulder next to him.

“Hey, why are you even worried, she’s not going to be angry, it’ll be fine!”

“Uh-huh, yeah, she’s _definitely_ not going to be angry,” Warriors scoffed.

“Shut _up,_ War,” said Wind through gritted teeth.

“Sky’s right,” said Legend, “She’s got bigger things to worry about than you.”

“It’s true,” added Four, “she’ll just be pleased to see you.”

Despite his friend’s assurances, he was _definitely_ worried. What was he going to say? Was it going to be awkward? It wasn’t awkward before, but it had been a while.

He walked very slowly through the Village alone, stopping whenever he could to say hello to the residents. The others were restocking on supplies from the shops for their journey and looking around the village. He hoped they wouldn’t cause too much of a sensation with the villagers, in a small community like this, eight outlandish strangers was bound to cause some gossip.

He dragged his feet up the steep, winding hill and then to the cliff on which the building resided. Nostalgia overwhelmed him as he remembered climbing this hill for the first time. He had remembered nothing of his old life and knew little of the gigantean task that was laid out in front of him. They were simpler times. Simpler, but not necessarily better.

Finally, he reached the wooden double doors of the tech lab and stopped for a moment before gathering the courage to step inside.

He had never felt the need to knock on the door of the tech lab before, he was always welcome and the only things he would interrupt were the things that involved him anyway. But now he stood uncomfortably in the doorway. It was just how he remembered it: Pages of important-looking documents carpeted the floor, and odd-looking model of what looked like a sea creature hung from the ceiling in one corner, and books with no order to them lined the walls. Purah and Zelda sat on the large wooden table in the middle of the room with their backs facing the door, hunched over something and lost in excited conversation. He felt his chest tighten. He was half expecting no one to be in.

They hadn’t noticed him which was awkward. He reached behind him and knocked on the door to get their attention. Immediately Purah and Zelda looked around.

“Link!” said Purah in her squeaky, excited voice.

Zelda’s features melted into delight; her golden hair positively sparkling.

“Link, I’ve missed you,” she said and walked over to him to give him a hug. This, more than anything, indicated how much times had changed. Zelda would never have greeted him like that one hundred years ago. She seemed different; more relaxed, less guarded. It suited her. She smelt like wildflowers and sunshine and immediately Wild realised how silly it was for him to be scared to see her. They had been through so much together, a bond like that couldn’t be broken.

“Come, sit down,” said Purah, and he hesitantly took a chair opposite the two girls.

Purah looked as young as ever although she had perhaps grown a couple of inches since he was last there. Her face was still round and full of excitement but he was glad she seemed to be ageing forwards now rather than backwards.

“Tell me, Link,” said Zelda, settling down, “where have you been these last few months?”

“That’s a very long story,” replied Wild with a nervous laugh. And it was. How could he explain the adventures he’d been on, the friends, no the _family,_ he’d made?

“Do you not have time to tell it?” she asked, some of the old Zelda stubbornness coming out. Wild laughed again and launched into a story about portals and companions and infected beasts. Zelda and Purah listened fascinatedly.

“My goodness, this opens up a whole world of options I hadn’t even considered!” said Purah when he had done. She scuttled away frantically and started pulling books off the shelves and rifling through documents.

“That is certainly interesting,” said Zelda thoughtfully, “to travel through time and space like that. I wonder if…” she trailed off. Lost in thought.

Wild coughed to get her attention. He wasn’t really interested in how it happened; all he knew was he was in the middle of it. Zelda came back to the present with a start.

“Oh, sorry. So, where are these friends of yours now?”

“They’re here. In the village. We’ve stopped here for a couple of days.” He gave a lopsided smile, “I think they want to meet you.”

“I would very much like to meet them. But perhaps another time, we’re buried under work here.”

“Oh,” said Wild, taking that as an invitation to leave, “I don’t want to intrude, I won’t stay for long.”

“Oh no! A visit from you surpasses anything we do here in importance,” she said with a smile.

“Actually… there was a reason I came here.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, it’s about my memories.”

Zelda frowned.

“You should really have all your memories back by now. From what I know of the shrine of resurrection, your mind should be perfectly restored.” She paused, “however, it is true there are no accounts of it being used quite as long as you were in there.”

That did nothing to soothe Wild’s worries.

“Actually, I’m not that concerned about getting them back. I mean, yes it can be frustrating at times not being able to remember, but I’m making new ones, I just…” what _did_ he want? He had come here hoping Zelda would solve all his problems. He realised now that was very naïve.

“I think,” he continued, “I think I want to know what I was like, back then, what did I feel, what did you think of me?”

Zelda smiled at him.

“My, Link, you _have_ changed,” she said quietly as if those words held all the answers. She paused for a while and Wild wondered if she was actually going to continue. Eventually, she spoke, a wistful air to her voice.

“You were the perfect soldier,” she continued, “you were strong and silent but above all else, you were loyal. I hated you at first, as you know. You seemed almost a machine, you fought so well and never let a single emotion get out of line. As for what you felt, I cannot help with that, you didn’t give much away. I thought you had a perfect life, you never complained of the task we had set out to complete, you never wavered in your strength. You would have laid down your life for me, almost recklessly sometimes, and yet that only made me angrier. You told me once, over a pot of your fine cooking, that your stoicism was how you dealt with all that was thrown at you. I realised then that your life was far from perfect and that we shared more in common than I had originally thought.”

As she stopped talking, Wild was struck with an overwhelming amount of emotion.

“That doesn’t sound like me at all,” he said, looking at the surface of the table, “I don’t think I could ever live up to him- me.”

“Oh no, but you shouldn’t try to!” Zelda exclaimed, “Look at you now, Link, you are now who you were deep inside back then. Your true self has been released; you are free of your burden. You are not so alone, you are free to be who you really are, and it makes you seem almost… wild!”

He smiled at her choice of words.

“But, like you said, I was the perfect soldier. Surely that’s a good thing?”

“You were unhappy. You had already given your life to serve your kingdom and you weren’t living for yourself. You merely have a different purpose now, one that I can tell makes you happier. Don’t judge yourself against someone in such different circumstances, who led such a different life, there is no point. You are trying to achieve something different now.”

He looked at her. Somehow in a few short moments, she had changed his perspective of everything. He had come here to remember. She had told him to let go.

“You seem happier and freer as well, you know,” he said.

She smiled widely.

“I feel it too. Have you got what you came for? Is there anything else you wish to know?”

Wild though about it.

“No, I don’t think there is.”

“Well, you should stay for a while, have a cup of tea,” she said.

“Actually, I think I better be going now, the others will be waiting.”

This wasn’t entirely true. In reality, he needed to get away, to mull over what she had said. Wild suspected she understood this, and she gave him a warm smile.

“It was very good to see you again.”

“You too.”

“WAIT!” shouted Purah suddenly from the corner of the room. Wild had almost forgotten she was there. They both looked at her, startled.

“I have a favour to ask you,” she said, walking over to them, “we have a… situation down at the Zora’s Domain-“

“Oh no,” Zelda interrupted quickly, “I’m sorry, Purah, I know it’s important, but we can’t ask Link to do that.” She looked nervously at him.

“What is it?” he asked curiously.

“What do you mean he can’t do it?” Purah snapped, “He saved all of Hyrule, I think he can manage a little trip to the Zora’s Domain.” She turned to him and Wild almost laughed at the expression on the princess’s face. Purah had never been one to respect a hierarchy.

“We’re having a problem with Vah Ruta,” she continued.

Wild was confused.

“Aren’t all the Divine Beasts inactive now?”

“Oh no, no,” replied Purah impatiently, “those things practically have a mind of their own, even without the champions controlling them, you can’t turn them off completely. Anyhow, it seems it’s making it rain again. Don’t worry,” she added quickly, “there are no dark forces behind it this time. The beasts are very much like wild animals, they are very difficult to control. But King Dorephan is getting quite anxious as you can imagine. You’ve come just in time! You and your friends can go and sort it out.”

Wild thought of everything those Divine Beasts stood for, _particularly_ Vah Ruta. If he knew something from his memories, it was that he had truly loved Mipha with all his heart. He had left that particular journey behind. He had started a new one.

Zelda watched him carefully.

“Link, you do not have to go, I can easily find someone else who would be more than willing-“

“I’ll do it,” he said, almost involuntarily. He knew there wasn’t much of a choice. He had left Zelda do rebuild an entire kingdom and although she didn’t seem to be angry about it like he thought she would be, it did make it his duty.

“You’re sure?” Zelda asked him in surprise.

“Absolutely, it’s the least I can do,” he replied.

“And your friends, they won’t mind?”

“We don’t have anything else to be doing at the moment.”

Zelda smiled sadly.

“Perhaps there is something left of the old you in there after all,” she said.

And with that he left, pondering everything that had been said as he made his way down the winding hill just as slowly as he had climbed it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot of Mipha/Wild in this chapter, just in case anyone doesn't like that!
> 
> Otherwise, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the last chapter <3

Everyone was more than willing to take to the road again early the next morning. It was funny really, considering how much they complained about their inability to settle down, all those longing glances at Time and Malon when they visited, but when it came down to it, they couldn’t stand to take a break for too long. It seemed the hero’s spirit came hand in hand with the need for a sense of purpose.

So it was that the next day was spent walking through the open plains of Wild’s Hyrule. While the path they strode along was by no means the most dangerous, they encountered many a stray Bokoblin, and Wild, knowing their hiding places having travelled this path countless times previously, felled each one before they even noticed they were there. He earned a few awed looks from his companions.

“We’re almost at the Riverside Stable, we can stop there for the night and we should get to Zora’s Domain by this time tomorrow,” he told them when the sun hung low in the sky.

“I can’t believe your Zelda made us walk to the other end of your Hyrule to fix a machine you already fixed months ago,” grumbled Legend.

Twilight chuckled. “She didn’t send us to the other end of Hyrule.”

“What?” asked Legend looking stricken, “What do you mean?”

“I mean Zora’s Domain is pretty close to Hateno Village in the grand scheme of things.”

“You have got to be kidding me, how big _is_ this place?”

“To be fair we did have to walk around the mountain range,” Wild interjected, “and I _said_ we could teleport to a shrine.”

“Nope, no way,” said Twilight quickly, “I have done that one too many times.”

“I don’t see what could be so bad-“ started Wind.

“Believe me, I would rather walk a thousand miles on foot than have all my particles dismantled and then put back together again.”

“Yeah, I don’t fancy trying that,” said Hyrule.

“It’s not _that_ bad,” said Wild sulkily.

They got to the stable just as the sun was setting over Hyrule Field. The evening was cool and clear, and the horse-shaped tent was a warm and merry sight after the long days travel.

“You know what I like about your Hyrule, Wild,” mused Hyrule who was walking beside him, “it was _made_ for adventurers.”

Wild smiled at that. He knew a lot of the group hadn’t taken to his time; Warriors thought it too disorderly and Time always looked sadly at the ruins, some of them too close to the world he knew and loved. But Hyrule came from a world even more desolate than his own, and where the others saw the destruction of their home, he saw a community of people who had built a new one from the ashes of their fallen kingdom. It was a place of hope and survivors.

He bought them some beds for the night while the others dumped themselves around the campfire, stretching out their limbs and massaging their aching feet. He joined them in the middle of a conversation with Gotter, the glutton who shared Wild’s love of cooking.

“You’ll have to give me the recipe some time!” came Hyrule’s voice as he neared.

“Please don’t give him a recipe, Gotter,” said Wild before he could reply.

“Yeah we swore we would never let you near a cooking pot again, sorry ‘Rule,” said Wind while the others nodded in agreement.

Hyrule looked outraged while Gotter gave a hearty laugh.

“Good to see you again, Link! Any new recipes from your travels?”

“Actually, I was just about to start cooking up something now, you’re welcome to join us.”

They had managed to restock on supplies in Hateno and Legend had ignored Twilight’s protests and caught them some meat, so he and Gotter spent the next hour whipping up a new recipe together which in the end, Wild had to admit, turned out to be one of his best.

With bellies full and spirits high, they spent the first part of the night telling stories around the campfire. A lot of them were tales that had been told before many a time on warm nights like these but were repeated purely for the look of amazement that came across Gotter’s face when they told him of their adventures.

Wild, though appreciative of the uplifting atmosphere, didn’t join in. Instead, he was lost in his own thoughts a million miles away (or a hundred years ago) with a small Zora princess of whom he remembered so little yet still felt the heartbreak as if she had died only yesterday.

He sat a little away from the group, finding their merriment isolating and lonely after a while, and he noticed Twilight kept shooting him glances out of the corner of his eye. Only he knew the weight of this quest for Wild, only he knew that it would take him back to the very place the person he had loved was murdered in cold blood. Going back there… it was the last thing he wanted to do.

 _But then when had anyone considered what I wanted?_ he thought bitterly.

He had told the others the bare skeleton of information about the Divine Beasts and the Zora, just enough for them to understand the task Zelda had set. They didn’t know about Mipha. He thought if he started to speak about her he might just break down entirely.

After a while, Time shooed them all to bed, reminding them they had to be up early and bright-eyed the next day in order to make it to Zora’s Domain.

The stable beds were comfy and brought memories of many a night spent in refuge from the world during his journey alone and then a bit later with a certain wolf. But despite that, and despite the peaceful snoring from the other Links, Wild didn’t sleep a wink. Instead, his worries and grief festered in the dark stillness of the night, growing until he was paralysed in murky emotions, gasping for breath. At some point Wolfie clambered onto the straw-stuffed bed and curled up beside him which at least allowed him some peace, if still not slumber.

So when morning came, he felt pretty much like death itself and it didn’t help that the others seemed particularly filled with energy. They set off, saying their farewells to Gotter, and started to head away from the river and towards the mountains that hid their destination.

The journey was mostly uneventful until they got to Zora River. Wild led the way mostly in silence, Twilight a source of comfort by his side only occasionally getting him to engage in conversation. He knew the ranch hand had lost the one he loved somehow. He didn’t know the details and had always accepted that his mentor would open up when he was ready, but as bad as he felt about thinking it, he was glad he had someone who knew vaguely what he was feeling. The others trailed a little way behind and he wondered whether Twilight had said something to them about giving him space.

It was when they crossed Zora River that things got really exciting. He hadn’t walked this trail for a long time, choosing instead to use his slate to teleport to the Domain whenever needed, and he had forgotten how monsters seemed to flock here. It was a popular route for travellers and so it made sense that they would, lying in wait for the next unsuspecting Hylian.

It was almost fun, in a morbid way, making their way up the hill together and taking it in turns to slaughter each monster as it came, and he almost forgot about where the journey was taking him. He remembered when he had first scaled this path, alone and confused with no memories of his past and no grasp on the task he had yet to complete. He had a family now, the people who were laughing and fighting beside him, who he knew would give their life up for him if it came down to it, and vice-versa. That was more precious than anything.

The strange formation of Vah Ruta loomed above them, looking so still and peaceful Wild wondered if perhaps Zelda had been misinformed. But as they drew closer to the Domain, a heavy rain started to fall. Huge raindrops splattered onto their faces making it impossible to see more than two feet in front of them. They quietened immediately, all on edge as they strode quietly and low to the ground, weapons out, just waiting for the inevitable ambush to arise from the wall of falling water. Fortunately, it seemed the monsters were either having the same problem with visibility or they simply chose to be somewhere else with better weather and they didn’t encounter any other attacks.

“This is worse than it was before you destroyed Waterblight,” muttered Twilight whose hair hung flat on his face, his fur coat heavy and waterlogged. His eyes were wide and flitted around, searching for any movement that could possibly mean danger.

“Are you really telling me that lump of rock is causing all this?” asked Warriors. He looked uncharacteristically bedraggled and extremely unhappy as he motioned to the outline of Vah Ruta, only just visible through the rain.

“It’s not rock,” said Wild irritably, “it’s ancient Shiekah technology.”

“Yeah, whatever, but how is that thing making it rain?”

“I’m not sure, that’s what we’re going to figure out. Last time it was Ganon but Purah said it was nothing to do with that this time.”

“This is one of the strangest quests I’ve been on and that is saying something,” said Hyrule shaking his head.

Eventually they reached the long, elegant bridge that led to Zora’s Domain and Wild felt slightly sad they couldn’t see it when it wasn’t raining sheets. It was one of the most beautiful places in his world; people came far and wide to see the intricate Zora architecture or a glimpse of the stunning East Reservoir Lake.

But despite the unfortunate lack of visibility, when the faint outline of the Domain emerged in front of them, the group stopped, their jaws dropping in awe. The softly luminous stone that was a favourite of the Zora infrastructure loomed from the foggy rain making it look like the whole province was floating. It was mystical and unearthly, unlike anywhere else Wild had been.

“Woa,” said Legend, stopping to take in the view, “This is a bit different to the Zora Domain I know.”

“It’s incredible,” said Time, his voice almost a whisper, looking more awestruck than Wild had ever seen him.

“You should see it when it’s sunny,” grinned Wild.

They were silent as they crossed the bridge to the domain, their huge eyes taking it in in wonder. Wild felt a sense of pride that his world had caused such a reaction to a group of heroes who claimed they had seen it all.

Bazz was on guard at the entrance looking hopelessly forlorn, but when they reached him his eyes lit up at once. He greeted him in his usual demeanour which was somehow both stiff and convivial at the same time.

“Link! Thank goodness! come to save the day again?”

“Good to see you again Bazz, this all seems very familiar.”

“Ah, but this time you’ve brought friends I see! Welcome! Any friend of Link’s is a friend of the Zora.”

The Links smiled back at him and Hyrule gave a small wave.

“Is Sidon here?” asked Wild.

“Upstairs,” replied Bazz, “I expect he’ll be more than happy to see you. We all are.”

He nodded his thanks and moved to lead the group up the sweeping staircase to the right.

What they saw at the top was absolute chaos. Zora were running around frantically, some of them carrying rocks and tools which Wild only assumed were for repairs, some of them trying desperately to sweep away the water that puddled on the floor, and some of them seemed to be just running around for the sake of it. The serene, idyllic Zora’s Domain he knew was in complete disarray.

“My most treasured friend!”

Wild turned towards the familiar voice. The large, red Zora was looking as well-groomed as ever despite the bedlam, and his usual perfect and friendly smile adorned his face, but there was something a little hysterical in his eyes leaving Wild wondering when the last time was that he slept. When he reached them, he enveloped Wild into a huge, rib-cracking hug.

Warriors whistled. “That is one big Zora.”

“Why, thank you, my friend!” Sidon shot a toothy grin his way. “You are all friends of Link I assume?”

They nodded, all seemingly struck dumb by everything happening around them. Wild couldn’t blame them.

“We’ve come to help with your er… rain problem,” said Time, stepping forward.

“That’s marvellous, thank you! We could really use some help actually,” he said with a smile as if the need for help wasn’t already implied with the panicked Zora running every which way behind him.

“How long has this been going on for?” asked Wild.

“Oh, about a week. We thought everything was sorted when you destroyed Ganon, but it seems we were mistaken.”

“It does seem so, yes,” said Legend sarcastically. Wild shot him a hard stare.

“The water level is rising very fast and I’m fearful we don’t have much time, a few days at the most. I tried to get up there myself, but the Beast is closed off, won’t even let me near it. But this should be no problem for you, Link! Particularly with all your wonderful friends!”

“We’ll head up to Vah Ruta first thing tomorrow, I hope you don’t mind us resting for the night, we’re exhausted and won’t do much good like this,” said Time

“Why of course! Settle at the Inn, take as much time as you need!” he exclaimed, despite having just said they were on a strict time limit, “I am just so pleased you’re here, Link, it’s been far too long.”

With one last gleaming smile from Sidon, they clambered back down the steps and hurried under the shelter of the Seabed Inn. Kayden was thrilled to see them and let them stay for free provided they promised to sort the rain out.

“The Zora are so friendly!” exclaimed Wind, sitting on a bed and testing its bounciness.

“Especially Sidon, he seems really nice,” said Sky.

Legend was wringing his clothes out.

“I don’t like him,” he stated.

“What? Why?” asked Wild. He had always been very fond of the oversized prince.

“That smile he does where he shows off his perfect white teeth and that thing he does with his arm, it all seems a bit crass to me.”

“I like him,” said Hyrule.

“Actually, for once I agree with the veteran,” said Warriors.

“You’re just jealous because he has better fashion sense than you,” retorted Twilight, receiving an extremely offended look from the Captain.

“Sidon’s always been really welcoming to me,” Wild shrugged, “even when the other Zora dismissed me as a failure, and he could have easily blamed me for the death of his sister. There weren’t many who were so nice to me back then.”

“His sister?” Four asked curiously.

Wild stiffened. He hadn’t meant to let that slip.

“That’s her there,” Wild replied pointing to the large statue of the woman he loved, always a reminder right there in the centre of the Domain.

They were all quiet for a moment as they observed the delicately carved stone.

“She’s hot,” Warriors supplied after a while and got a slap to the head from Twilight.

“Ow! What? She is!”

Twilight nodded towards Wild who was staring at the statue wistfully.

“She died a hundred years ago,” said Twilight, emphasising the last three words.

Warriors looked confused but then his expression melted into understanding as he looked from the statue to Wild.

_“Ohh.”_

“She looks lovely Wild,” said Time kindly.

Wild nodded sadly.

“She was.”

As much as he wanted to share his memories of Mipha with the others one day, for now he was glad when they didn’t ask any more questions and they all went to bed. He wasn’t sure he could talk about her just yet, particularly when they were in the place of which she would one day have become queen.

For the second night in a row Wild did not sleep well and when he did finally manage to doze off, his sleep was fitful and entirely restless. Wild found himself wishing the Inn was a bit more closed off as the occasional raindrop splattered onto his face. He cringed at the thought of how long the Zora had lived like this, now, and before when Waterblight Ganon had taken control.

He dreamed a flood consumed the world and his friends were drowning and he just couldn’t save them. Wolfie swam, desperately trying to keep his head above the water until he grew tired and sunk beneath the surface. Water filled Wild’s lungs and he couldn’t breathe and Mipha was there telling him she couldn’t heal him, that he didn’t deserve to be healed, that this was _all his fault_.

He woke up gasping, choking on water that wasn’t water anymore, just air. When he finally managed to make himself breathe normally, he looked around, hoping he hadn’t woken anyone up. He hadn’t, to his relief they were all sleeping soundly.

Knowing he would never get back to sleep again, he pulled on his hood and tiptoed out of the Inn and into the pouring rain. The distant scuffle of Zora was muffled but present in the distance, but the sheet of water gave the impression of solitude. He walked slowly around the statue of his once love and took a place in front of her, a place he had seen Sidon take on many a lonely night.

Her larger-than-life-size face loomed down in all its slightly luminescent glory, that familiar, soft smile carved so perfectly and carefully into the stone. It was a truly beautiful piece of art, although not one he was sure Mipha would have appreciated all that much. She would have scolded her father for not using the resources and effort to create something more useful and meaningful. But Mipha had been the heart of the Zora and it only made sense for her legacy to remain in the heart of the Domain.

Wild may have forgotten most of the memories of their time together, but each one he did have, he held close to his heart. The feeling of happiness and utter love he felt for her, however, that would always remain.

“Wild?”

Wild was startled from his thoughts and he turned around to see Legend holding what looked like Warriors’ scarf over his head to shield him from the rain.

“Oh, hey Legend. Couldn’t sleep?”

“You woke me up when you ‘sneaked’ out earlier, I couldn’t go back to sleep.”

“Oh… sorry.”

“Whatever, I’m not sure how I slept before with all this rain anyway,” he replied and peered up at the statue in front of them, just standing beside Wild as they studied it for a while. Wild found that he liked the company.

“So, you loved her, huh?”

“Yeah, I think we would have married if we’d both survived,” Wild said quietly.

“She must have been something, for them to put a great statue in the middle of their Domain.”

“She was. She was incredible, kind and funny. I don’t really even remember all that much of her to tell the truth; I just know that I _loved_ her. It’s strange to feel the loss without even properly knowing the person.”

“Do you have _any_ memories of her?”

“I do have one in particular. We were sitting on top of Vah Ruta, that was before everything properly started to go downhill, and she was healing a wound on my arm. She was telling me to be more careful.”

Legend let out a short laugh.

“Sounds like you.”

“Yeah,” Wild smiled, “but other than that I know we knew each other from a young age, I used to visit her when we were both young.”

There was a pause and all that could be heard was the unremitting beating of rain on luminous stone.

“But if things had gone right,” said Legend slowly, “if you had got married, wouldn’t she still be alive now? She would have had to watch you grow old and die?”

“I suppose,” answered Wild. In truth, he had thought about this a lot.

“I think we were just willing to cross that bridge when we came to it. It’s strange now, that Mipha’s gone and I’m still here. It wasn’t- it wasn’t meant to be like that, Legend.” His voice cracked a little. “It’s so unfair, she didn’t deserve to die, she should be here, next in line for the throne.”

Legend didn’t say anything for a while, but he moved a little closer to Wild as he continued to look up at the statue.

“I lost someone once too, you know,” he said so quietly Wild almost missed it under the pounding rain and he looked at him in surprise. Out of all of them, Legend was one of the most secretive but perhaps the most likely to have a big tragedy in his past.

“I think- I think that’s really when I started shutting off my emotions altogether. You haven’t done that, Wild, you’re stronger than I ever was.”

Wild scoffed.

“You’re one of the strongest people I know.”

“Stoicism isn’t necessarily strength.”

Wild thought about that and about how the him from a hundred years ago never showed his emotions. He had come to realise, partly from the recent help from Zelda, that he was a lot better off now.

“I’m sorry you lost someone,” he said, because it seemed important to let him know that he _was._ He was sorry for everything.

“We’ve all loved and lost, Wild, we’ve all just dealt with it in different ways. I just wanted you to know you’re not alone.”

There might have been some tears mixed with the rain running down his face now. He wasn’t sure.

“Thank you, Legend,” he said softly, and they stood there a moment letting the rain soak their clothes. After a while, Wild broke the silence.

“Is that War’s scarf?” he asked.

Legend snorted.

“Needed something to keep the rain off, I didn’t want to get any of my own stuff wet.”

“He’s gonna be mad.”

“Yup. You won’t tell him, will you?”

“Nah, he can work it out on his own,” he replied smiling. Then Legend put his arm around Wild, something he had never done before, and they made their way back to the Inn.

“Why is my scarf soaked?!” Warriors demanded when they woke up the next morning.

“I don’t know, did you leave it out in the rain?” asked Sky. Legend shot Wild an evil smile but otherwise kept quiet.

“Why would I have left it out in the rain, Sky?” retorted Warriors angrily.

“Wring it out and it’ll be fine,” said Time impatiently, “We’ve got to get going soon or we’ll never get there. Wild, I assume you can lead the way?”

Wild nodded. He was nervous. As the past dwelling of Mipha’s spirit and Waterblight Ganon, he really had no clue what they would find up there.

“It would be quicker to go around by the East Reservoir Lake but there’s a lot of climbing that way.”

“I would say the quicker we get there the better,” replied Time.

Legend groaned loudly.

“I hate climbing,” he grumbled.

After one last rendezvous with Sidon, who had clearly been up all night trying to sort out the rising water problem, they made their way up the steps to the East Reservoir Lake.

“This architecture is phenomenal,” said Four, looking around at the blue stone dam with its elaborate carvings and elegant staircases. The Links were even more impressed when they got to the lake, exclaiming how they had never seen such a large body of water that wasn’t the sea. It looked endless in the cover of the misty rain.

They began their tricky descent into the hills, some endeavour even in good weather but the rain made it slippery and all the more challenging. Wild was a lot faster than the rest of them, growing impatient as he waited at the top of each rise for the others to join him. He just wanted to get there, for this to be over with as quickly as possible.

When they finally got to the bottom of the jutting cliff on which the Divine Beast sat watching over Hyrule, the others were already out of breath and groaned loudly when they saw what they had to climb.

“I can do this on my own, you know?” offered Wild, “You came all the way here, you’ve done more than enough already.”

“Don’t be a dolt, Wild, of course we’re coming with you,” said Legend breathlessly, “just- just give us a minute.” He lent forwards to catch his breath, putting his hands on his knees.

After a quick break where they all geared themselves up for the next climb, they started to make their way up the cliff. Wild, forever grateful that they were doing this to support him, went slower than he had been before ready to help when needed. Eventually, they reached the top, each one staring in amazement at the huge piece of technology towering in front of their eyes as they clambered over the edge.

“It’s even bigger up close!” said Sky, eyes wide.

“That’s generally how it works,” retorted Wind, though he too was awestruck at the sheer size of the thing.

But Wild was looking at something else. Ever since Ganon had been defeated the beasts had all closed themselves off, not letting anyone inside or even within close proximity. Now, the side had opened up just as it had done when he had travelled to it with Sidon all those months ago.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” said Time, though he was clearly struggling from the climb, “let’s go!”

As they walked towards it, Wild almost expected something to happen, for it to shoot water at them or something to keep them away. But they neared the door and nothing did.

“Didn’t Sidon say he couldn’t get near it?” asked Twilight suspiciously.

Wild just nodded.

“Looks pretty easy to me,” remarked Hyrule.

As soon as they stepped into the Divine Beast, flashbacks of past battles flitted through Wild’s mind. The memory of the horror of his first encounter with part of his nemesis made his brow furrow and muscles stiffen. Twilight put a hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t have to do this again, Cub,” he said quietly so the others couldn’t hear, “We can take care of it.”

“I have to, Twi,” he said determinedly.

“I know,” he said with a proud smile, “let’s just get it over with as quickly as possible.”

The walls of the first chamber loomed above them showing the intricate inner workings of the Beast that Wild would never understand.

Suddenly they were all thrown off balance as the ground gave a violent lurch beneath them.

“Woa, is that meant to happen?” asked Four.

“I don’t think so,” said Wild, “I haven’t seen this thing move since Waterblight.”

It lurched again even more aggressively than the first time.

“I don’t like this,” said Time, “stay on your guard.”

“A lot of help that’ll do when the _ground_ is attacking us,” retorted Warriors. Wild was pretty sure he was still in a bad mood from the scarf incident.

Wild was about to lead them to the right into the second chamber when four Guardian Scouts scuttled out of the doorway, glowing blue weapons raised.

“Split up!” cried Warriors, ignoring Time’s smirk that he had been right, “Four, Sky, Wild, Twi and ‘Rule take the two on the left and the rest of us will take the others.”

They jumped into action, splitting into two as Warriors had suggested. Wild had taken on many Guardian scouts in his time and knew they stood no chance of getting through even one of them, let alone nine.

“Aim for the eye!” he shouted above the clang of swords against metal. To his disdain, their opponents were fighting back brutally. It was almost evenly matched between Wild and Twilight and the one they were fighting.

“They’re not meant to be this difficult to kill,” grunted Wild as yet another of his swings was easily swatted away.

“Are they infected do you think?” shouted Twilight between blocking the Guardian sword with his shield.

“I don’t know how they could be; they don’t even _have_ _blood_.”

The others were struggling just as much, not one of them even managing to get a hit in. The Guardians were ten times more powerful than usual.

_What was going on?_

“Wild!” yelled Time from the other side of the chamber, “How do you beat these things, we can’t get to the eye!”

Wild was panicking. He had never seen such strength in a full-sized Guardian let alone these smaller ones, and if he didn’t figure out how to defeat them soon someone was going to get seriously injured.

“Wild!” shouted Four who was lighter than the others and having difficulty shielding himself from the swings without being flung across the room, “now would be a good time!”

“Er…,” he blocked a particularly ferocious jab from the Guardian sword, “I-if you can’t get to the eye, aim for the legs.”

He tried to say it with confidence but honestly, he had no idea if that would even work. It usually did, but then usually they could be taken out with a single arrow. But it seemed even diffident battle tactics were better than nothing and they changed their stances accordingly.

_Hylia, please let this work._

And then, as if Hylia herself had answered his quick prayer, he could have sworn he heard a quiet “ _link”_ being called from the next chamber.

No, surely not, he was imagining things, he couldn’t afford to have any attention drawn from the battle at hand.

“Look out!” yelled Four as the Guardian they were fighting turned towards Wild and Twilight instead. Wild backflipped out the way just in time.

“ _Link”_

“That was totally unnecessary, Wild, you show off,” called Twilight, sweat now beading on his forehead. He had avoided a similar strike by simply stepping out the way.

“ _Link”_

Ok, that voice in his head was getting irritating now and it was a little too familiar to the one that had echoed around his mind when he first woke from a hundred-year slumber. A Guardian sword came out of nowhere and sliced through his tunic and below into his flesh. He hissed as the burning blade cauterised the wound.

“Pay attention!” scolded Twilight, and he was right, he had been distracted.

**_“Link”_ **

The voice was getting hard to ignore now and he longed to break from the battle to go and figure out where it was coming from. By the looks of it, no one else could hear it. Besides, there was something awfully familiar about it.

**_“Link, come to me.”_ **

That was it, he couldn’t ignore it anymore. It was like someone was _pulling_ him in the direction of the next chamber. He broke away, ignoring the confused shouts from Twilight and his other friends. He hoped they could hold their own until he got back.

He ran down the slope to the next chamber, ducking to dodge a laser from one of the Guardians as he went, and emerged into a familiar room, one he’d perhaps subconsciously blocked from his memory. But there was no malice here now, no strange, dark atmosphere, the kind that seemed to saturate the very air when Ganon was in control. It felt eerily empty.

None of the others were coming after him, thank goodness, but now that he was here, he wondered why. _Had_ he imagined the voice after all?

**“ _Link”_**

No. It was crystal clear now to Wild who it was.

“Mipha?” he called into the cavernous space, his voice echoing back at him.

“You came. I hoped you would.”

He swivelled around and almost cried out in shock. There, right in front of him, was the Zora princess, looking as solid and real as the day he had sat with her on top of the very same beast they were in now.

“Mipha,” he breathed as if talking too loudly would make her disappear, “how…“

“I was never truly gone, my love. Not when you are still around to mourn me.” She smiled that sweet, sad smile that seemed so familiar yet also from a different life.

“But you left, y-you moved on,” Wild was scrambling over his words.

“Oh, Link, you really think I’d leave without saying a proper goodbye?” she laughed softly, and it filled the chamber, echoing ethereally in the large space. Or perhaps that was just her voice, she must still be a spirit after all. It was like a song that holds a memory within it, no, more than that, a _feeling,_ a feeling of a time long past. The sound of his friends’ battle was distant despite being so near.

“I-I don’t understand.”

“There are a lot of things you don’t understand yet, but I am here and that’s what matters.” She smiled at him as he looked stupidly back at her, at a loss for words. Here he was, speaking to the woman he had a thousand questions for, a thousand sentiments, and he couldn’t think of one.”

Her smile suddenly turned into a frown.

“Oh, look you’ve hurt yourself again, aren’t I always telling you to be more careful?” And just like that, they were back to how they once were. Two champions in way over their heads just learning to take each day as it came.

“Here, let me heal it,” she said stepping forwards to take his injured arm in her hands and then she stopped, frowning.

“This is a guardian wound. I told those little machines not to hurt any of you. I just wanted to keep the others separate while we talked.” She put her hand to his wound. It felt odd. Not solid exactly, but definitely _there,_ like the ghost of a touch. The pain, which hadn’t exactly been his main concern anyway, disappeared completely. She was so incredibly close now and he was noticing details about her he had all but forgotten.

“Mipha, I- I _miss_ you.”

“I have missed you too, why do you think I made it rain? Why do you think I called you here?”

 _“You_ made it rain?” He was shocked. Mipha was so _nice_ he couldn’t imagine her doing something like that. But then she had always got a bit of a sassy side to her, it was one others didn’t get to see very often.

“I thought my brother might benefit from a little challenge,” she said mischievously.

But then her face sobered into sadness.

“I waited for you Link. After you defeated Ganon the other champion’s spirits moved on and yet I could not. There was too much regret. Too much sorrow that you would go on living your life without me.”

Wild looked at the floor ashamedly.

“I’m so sorry, Mipha. It shouldn’t have been this way.”

“You misunderstand me, Link. Your survival gave me hope and courage to help make a better future for Hyrule, nothing makes me happier to see you rise from the ashes of your old life. I am only sad I could not be by your side.”

“I have so many things to say to you,” Wild said almost desperately.

“And yet I fear we do not have much time. I’ve travelled with you for so long, Link, and what an amazing thing it is to have adventure even after life. But it is finally time I must go.”

“There are so many things we never got to do, so many things we never said.”

She looked at him kindly.

“Our love was a childish game compared to our duty to Hyrule. We were a sacrifice, that was our purpose. We were never meant to indulge in something so ordinary as love. And yet that is what always fuelled my courage. I don’t think I would ever have done any of it if it wasn’t for you, my darling Link.”

His eyes brimmed with tears.

“I can’t lose you again.”

“I’ve been dead for a long time; now you must simply let me go and I you. I see you’re finally happy, Link, you have found a family and that’s more than I could have hoped for. It is because of that I can finally rest in peace. I merely stayed so I could say this one last goodbye. Now, do me a favour and tell Sidon how proud of him I am.” Her form started to fade.

“Please don’t go,” he sobbed.

“Ours was but a brief story, drowned in the endlessness of time and yet it was everything to me. _It was my pleasure, Link”_

He dropped to his knees and let the floodgates finally open. The tears were long-awaited and therefore never-ending. Mipha faded from view, gone forever this time.

“Wild?!” Shouted a voice and he vaguely heard footsteps running towards him. They slowed and turned to one as they neared, and he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Are you hurt?”

He shook his head and the hand on his shoulder stiffened.

“Mipha?” asked Twilight softly.

He didn’t know how he knew. Perhaps it was really the only thing that made sense as he cried his eyes out in his old love’s Divine Beast.

He nodded slowly and Twilight enveloped him into a hug which he didn’t pull away from. Mipha was right, he had a family now, and to know that it made Mipha happy, that despite everything she was watching over him, it made him treasure them even more. He had lived two lives, an extraordinary thing if he really thought about it, and it was time to leave his old one behind.

They sat like that for a while, Wild simply being comforted by his mentor’s embrace.

“Come on, let’s go,” said Twilight eventually, helping him up off the hard ground. “I can’t hear the rain anymore; I think you’ve done what we came here to do.”

To Wild’s embarrassment, through the tears, he saw the rest of the group standing awkwardly watching them.

“Is anyone hurt?” he asked with a sniff.

“No,” said Twilight, “It was strange; we started to realise the Guardians didn’t seem to _actually_ want to hurt us. They fought just enough to keep us on the defensive.”

“Not to mention they just suddenly dropped to the ground and died a few moments ago,” said Wind.

As they walked back through the first chamber, Wild saw that they had indeed dropped to the ground and become inactive. He couldn’t help thinking that Mipha might be a tiny bit crazy.

When they stepped outside, they stepped into a world of sparkling sunshine.

The trip back to the Domain was easier than the trip up to the beast, or maybe it was just that Wild was so distracted he wasn’t paying attention. All he knew was that they got to the Zora in no time at all.

Sidon was over the moon.

“Link! Our saviour once again! You and your friends must join us in celebration of this joyous day, we can’t thank you enough!”

They all smiled wearily and looked at Time.

“Why are you looking at me?” he said with a laugh, “I think we all deserve a bit of a party, go wild.”

Their faces lit up and despite their exhaustion, they gathered up enough energy to join the Zora that night as “most esteemed guests” at their celebration. It was unlike any party they’d been to before. Zoras laughed and bathed in the pools, diving and splashing in playful joy that their home was back to its normal sunny nature. Strange aquatic drinks that tasted a bit like seaweed and only Wild seemed to like were passed around on silver platters, and the Links were constantly being pulled this way and that by admiring Zoras. The whole place was lit up with glowing blue orbs that made the atmosphere magical and numinous, and light music as intricate and beautiful as everything created by the Zora was played by a small band to the side with outlandish looking instruments.

Wild tried to enjoy it, he really did, but he kept glancing at Sidon. He needed to get him alone somehow and tell him about Mipha, he deserved it after all. It wasn’t exactly a conversation he was looking forward to.

“I’ll create a distraction to get all those Zora women away from him and then you might finally get him alone,” said Twilight, coming up behind him.

Wild looked at him in surprise. He had long since stopped asking how he knew exactly what he was thinking at times like these.

“How are you going to do that?” he asked.

“Easy,” he said with a mischievous grin and he walked over to the babble of girls that were swooning over the prince.

“Ladies!” he called in a very un-Twi-like voice that would have impressed Warriors, and the effect was immediate. Clearly the novelty of these new handsome Hylian heroes was enough to even trump their love for their prince, and they chattered in excitement, huddling over to Twilight instead. Wild shot him an amused but grateful look as he made his way over to the now secluded prince.

“Link! I have been trying to look for an opportunity to speak to you all night!” cried Sidon.

“Looked like you were a bit busy,” Wild smirked.

Sidon very possibly blushed, or at least his face turned a slightly darker shade of red though his smile was unfaltering.

“Actually, I’ve been wanting to speak to you too,” Wild continued hesitantly.

“Oh? Well go ahead, I will always have time for my most treasured friend!”

“I-it’s about Mipha.”

Sidon’s eyes both lit up and portrayed great sadness at the same time, the look he always got when talking about his sister.”

“Why, of course, she loved you very much! What is it?”

“I-I saw her, today in Vah Ruta,” he said carefully.

For the first time Wild had known him, Sidon was at a loss for words.

“What- what do you mean?”

“Her spirit had been residing there this whole time,” he continued, “she’s watched over me in my travels, helped me out of a lot of tough spots.”

“How is that possible?” asked Sidon, stunned.

“I don’t know, I don’t really understand it, all I know is she’s gone now, she’s moved on.”

There were tears in Sidon’s eyes, but he was smiling. Wild had been worried he would be angry he hadn’t told him before or that she hadn’t come to him, but he looked genuinely happy.

“If she’s been with you this whole time then I know she’s been happy. Thank you, Link, for telling me. I now know she’s content in her death.”

“She wanted to me to tell you something too,” Wild continued, “she said to tell you she’d proud of you.”

That was clearly too much for Sidon to handle and he looked at him for a moment, tears threatening to fall, and then suddenly he picked Wild up in a huge, suffocating hug.”

“I am more grateful than I can even begin to say, Link”

They left early the next morning with huge thank you’s to the Zora who had been more than hospitable during their stay. As they walked back along the bridge, they all looked back at the magnificent view of the Domain that was now, thanks to them, sparkling in the sunlight.

“I hope we can come and visit again someday,” said Wind.

“Sidon said we are always more than welcome,” replied Wild.

“I guess he’s not _that_ bad after all,” Legend muttered.

Hyrule gave a loud cough that sounded an awful lot like _‘softy’,_ earning a death glare from the veteran.

“He seemed to like Wild a lot though,” said Sky.

“Yeah, he _did,_ what is going on _there_?” asked Warriors with a suggestive grin.

“What?! Nothing, n-nothing’s going on,” blundered Wild, but he could tell he was red in the face. They all smirked but, thank Hylia didn’t pursue the subject.

They turned the corner and Time, who was in front, stopped abruptly.

“Why are you stopping, old ma- _oh._ ”

A portal was open in front of them, seemingly waiting for them on the path.

“Guess this is it then,” said Hyrule with a sigh. “Shame, I like this Hyrule.”

“I for one am not sorry to leave,” said Warriors, “no offence Wild.”

They all turned around to look one more time at the beautiful mountains and wide blue skies of this land.

“You certainly live up to your name, Wild, your Hyrule is crazy,” observed Four, “beautiful, but crazy.”

“Certainly an adventure,” agreed Time.

And with that, they turned stepped into the swirling purple depths of time and space, and moved, gratefully in most cases, onto the next world. Wild couldn’t help but feel a kind of sadness at all he was leaving behind. It was so much more than just a place.

 _Onto the next adventure then,_ he thought as he fell into another unfamiliar world.


End file.
